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VOA慢速英语2014 富兰克林.皮尔斯努力团结民主党

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Franklin Pierce Struggles to Unite Democratic Party 富兰克林.皮尔斯努力团结民主党

From VOA Learning English, welcome to The Making of a Nation, our weekly program of American history for people learning American English. I’m Steve Ember.

Eighteen fifty-two was a presidential election year in the United States.  The Democratic Party held its nominating convention in Baltimore, Maryland.  The meeting opened in June of 1852.  Delegates agreed that a man must win two-thirds of the convention's votes to be the Democratic candidate.

On the first ballot2, no one received two-thirds of the vote.  So the voting continued.  Finally, on the 47th ballot, support began to increase for someone considered an unlikely candidate.  His name was Franklin Pierce.

Pierce was from the northeastern state of New Hampshire.  He was a lawyer and former state lawmaker.  He also had served in the United States Senate and House of Representatives.  He became an officer in the Army during the U.S. war with Mexico.

On the 49th ballot, Pierce won the Democratic nomination3.  He would be the party's candidate for president.

“Pierce was a passionately4 loyal adherent5 of the Democratic Party and of its principles of negative governance domestically and spread eagle expansionism in foreign affairs.”

Historian Michael Holt wrote a book about Franklin Pierce.  Mr. Holt describes Pierce as someone who was like most Democrats6 at the time.  In other words, he did not think the federal government should intervene much in efforts to help build up and develop the nation.  But he wanted the United States to play a big and powerful role internationally.

Naturally, Democrats did not agree on every policy issue.  In 1852, the party was sharply divided on whether the government should — or could — permit slavery to continue in the United States.  But Democrats decided7 to limit their fighting with each other during the election campaign. And they all agreed to support Pierce.

The Whig Party held its presidential nominating convention in Baltimore two weeks after the Democrats met.  The same thing that happened at the Democratic convention now happened at the Whig convention.  Delegates voted over and over again.  But no man got enough votes to win.  It took 53 ballots8 before one of the men -- General Winfield Scott -- won the nomination.

On Election Day, Pierce won a crushing victory.  The Democrats won not only the presidency9, but also strong majorities in Congress.  The Democrats’ victory was so great that many people thought the Whig party was finished.

In fact, many Whigs themselves hoped their party was destroyed.  Like the Democrats, Whigs disagreed with each other about slavery.  Northern Whigs wanted to form a new anti-10slavery party.  And southern Whigs wanted to form a party that would better represent their interests. 

The Whigs lost badly in the 1852 elections because, unlike the Democrats, they were not able to bridge the differences between their northern and southern members.

Franklin Pierce was 48 years old when he took office.  He was the youngest man yet to be elected president.  He was charming and made friends easily.

But those who knew Pierce best worried about him.  They knew that under all his friendly charm, he was a weak man.  They feared the duties and problems of the presidency would be too great for him to deal with.

Pierce also faced a difficult situation in his personal life.  Two of his children had died when they were babies.  A third child was killed in a train accident shortly before Pierce moved to the White House.

In addition, his wife Jane did not like living in Washington, D.C.  She did not support her husband's campaign for presidency.  Years earlier, she had urged him to resign from the Senate and return to New Hampshire.  She did not want to go back to Washington.

When her husband was elected, she agreed to live there.  But she rarely saw anyone.  One of her close friends took her place at public events.

Historian Michael Holt says Franklin Pierce’s main goal as president was to keep his party united.  One way to maintain party unity11 was to adopt popular Democratic policies.  He promised strong support for expanding the territory of the United States.  He also promised a strong foreign policy.

During his term in office, Pierce successfully negotiated with Britain to gain American fishing rights along the coast of Canada.  He also supported diplomatic and trade talks with Japan.  However, he was unsuccessful in an attempt to buy Cuba from Spain.

National issues presented President Pierce with a more difficult problem.  Now that the election was over, some Democrats felt it was time once again to raise the issue of slavery.

The Compromise of 1850 had settled the question of slavery only in the western territories. But anti-slavery activists12 said the compromise should have done more to end slavery throughout the country.  And pro-slavery activists said the agreement did not protect slave owners’ rights.  They did not want the federal government to intervene in slavery anywhere.

As president in 1853, Pierce had to choose between the competing sides.  He could support the Compromise of 1850 and say the dispute over slavery was settled.

Or Pierce could try to make peace with both anti- and pro-slavery extremists.  Giving the extremists jobs in his administration would be the easy way to satisfy their demands.  And that was the policy Pierce chose.

“Contemporaries at the time predicted that this attempt to share the plums would wreck13 the party, and it did.”

Historian Michael Holt says Pierce sought to include men from competing sides of the Democratic Party in his cabinet.

Pierce named William Marcy of New York as Secretary of State.  Marcy wanted to limit the spread of slavery and keep the Union together.

Jefferson Davis of Mississippi was named Secretary of War.  Davis -- more than any other man -- represented southern slave owners.  He threatened to take the South out of the Union if the government set any limits on slavery.

Caleb Cushing of Massachusetts was named Attorney General. Although a northerner, Cushing was a friend of many southerners.  He was a very able man, but his loyalties14 were not clear. James Buchanan of Pennsylvania was named Minister to Britain.

All these men had strong ideas about the future of the United States. President Pierce found it difficult to control them.  One senator even said the administration should not have been called the Pierce administration, because Pierce did not lead it.  He said it was an administration of enemies of the Union who used the president's name and power for their own purposes.

As president, Franklin Pierce faced another difficult question.  Where should the United States build its new railroads?

The country had expanded and white settlers were moving west.  Many were hungry for good transportation.  They wanted railroads that reached across the continent, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.  Engineers decided that four new rail lines would be possible.  They could cross the southern, central, or northern parts of the United States.

Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas, a Democrat1, proposed that three of the lines be built.  He said the government could give land to the railroad companies.  The companies could then sell the land to get the money they needed to build the lines.

A Senate committee discussed the issue.  Its members proposed that only one railroad line be built.  But which one?

Many congressmen believed a southern line would be best.  There would be little snow in winter.  And the railroad would cross lands that were already organized as states or official territories.

A northern or central line would face severe winter weather.  And it would have to cross a large, wild area called Nebraska.  Nebraska was neither a state nor a territory.  As a result, it did not yet have a local government that could support a railroad.  In addition, many congressmen did not want Nebraska to develop a government.  The reason, once again, was slavery.

Michael Holt says members of President Pierce’s party hoped the effort to organize Nebraska would unite Democrats once again.  Instead, Mr. Holt says, Nebraska territory caused more conflicts and ruined Pierce’s administration.  The bill increased divisions between Democrats and Whigs, pro-slavery activists and anti-slavery abolitionists.  And, it brought the country one step closer to civil war.

As one northerner wrote, "It was said hundreds of years ago that a house divided against itself cannot stand.  The truth of this saying is written on every page in history.  It is likely that the history of our own country may offer fresh examples to teach this truth to future ages."

The bitter dispute over Nebraska will be our story next week.  I’m Steve Ember, inviting15 you to join us next time for The Making of a Nation — American history from VOA Learning English.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 democrat Xmkzf     
n.民主主义者,民主人士;民主党党员
参考例句:
  • The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
  • About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后,他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。
2 ballot jujzB     
n.(不记名)投票,投票总数,投票权;vi.投票
参考例句:
  • The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
  • The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。
3 nomination BHMxw     
n.提名,任命,提名权
参考例句:
  • John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
  • Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。
4 passionately YmDzQ4     
ad.热烈地,激烈地
参考例句:
  • She could hate as passionately as she could love. 她能恨得咬牙切齿,也能爱得一往情深。
  • He was passionately addicted to pop music. 他酷爱流行音乐。
5 adherent cyqzU     
n.信徒,追随者,拥护者
参考例句:
  • He was most liberal where money would bring him a powerful or necessary political adherent.在金钱能够收买一个干练的或者必需的政治拥护者的地方,他是最不惜花钱的。
  • He's a pious adherent of Buddhism.他是一位虔诚的佛教徒。
6 democrats 655beefefdcaf76097d489a3ff245f76     
n.民主主义者,民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
  • The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
8 ballots 06ecb554beff6a03babca6234edefde4     
n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 );选举;选票;投票总数v.(使)投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 presidency J1HzD     
n.总统(校长,总经理)的职位(任期)
参考例句:
  • Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
  • Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。
10 anti- iz3zQt     
pref.[前缀]表示反抗,排斥
参考例句:
  • The car has many safety features,including anti - skid braking.这车配有许多特别安全装置,包括防滑制动器。
  • The anti-aircraft units opened fire and hit two of the enemy planes.防空部队开炮,击中了两架敌机。
11 unity 4kQwT     
n.团结,联合,统一;和睦,协调
参考例句:
  • When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结,并非一团和气。
  • We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前,我们必须加强团结。
12 activists 90fd83cc3f53a40df93866d9c91bcca4     
n.(政治活动的)积极分子,活动家( activist的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
  • Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 wreck QMjzE     
n.失事,遇难;沉船;vt.(船等)失事,遇难
参考例句:
  • Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
  • No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。
14 loyalties 2f3b4e6172c75e623efd1abe10d2319d     
n.忠诚( loyalty的名词复数 );忠心;忠于…感情;要忠于…的强烈感情
参考例句:
  • an intricate network of loyalties and relationships 忠诚与义气构成的盘根错节的网络
  • Rows with one's in-laws often create divided loyalties. 与姻亲之间的矛盾常常让人两面为难。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 inviting CqIzNp     
adj.诱人的,引人注目的
参考例句:
  • An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
  • The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人,使人感到亲切温馨。

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